Brown OKs Bill Protecting California Grocery Workers

(AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation to protect California grocery store workers from being fired for 90 days after a store changes ownership.

The Democratic governor announced Monday that he signed AB359 by San Diego Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez.

The bill mandates a worker-retention period when grocery stores with at least 15,000 square feet change owners. After the transition, the new employer must provide a written performance evaluation and consider employing each worker.

Gonzalez says janitorial employees receive similar protections when there's a contractor change at worksites.

San Francisco, Santa Monica and Los Angeles already have local ordinances for grocery workers.

Brown says the legislation is not clear about how it would affect workers if a grocery employer stopped operating, but the author has promised to address that.